Petrowski has long been a divisive figure in Niagara politics. Just two weeks ago he was found to be in violation of the council’s code of conduct for posting Islamophobic tweets.

In 2015, he tweeted that Barack Obama had a “perverted mind” for condoning same-sex marriages, the St. Catharines Standard reported.

Last year he offered support to Trump’s proposed Muslim ban on local radio.

“What is the probability of these tens of thousands of refugees coming through into Canada that a small percentage — well, it doesn’t have to be a percentage, the only one that matters is the one who decides to put a machine gun in his or her hands and wipe people out at the Eaton Centre,” he said.